Michigan Tech’s 2nd Annual Essential Education Symposium will take place on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 on campus, the week after Spring Semester Final Exams. The 1st Annual Essential Ed Symposium took place on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. It was highlighted by our special guest Shane Sutherland – Founder/CEO/CMM of PebblePad, an internationally higher education utilized ePortfolio platform. His lunchtime Keynote focused on how other academic institutions around the world are using ePortfolios to maximize student reflection, communicate skill acquisition and application, and documenting their academic accomplishments to future employers and academic programs.
The 2026 Essential Ed Symposium will feature highlights from the launch of each element of Essential Education. More exciting sessions relating to Essential Ed, its impact on students, faculty support resources and best practices, skill needs of future employers, will be announced in early spring. These elements are highlighted in this short video “What is MIchigan Tech’s Essential Education?”
We encourage you to visit Michigan Tech Essential Ed YouTube channel . This is the home of the videos being created to promote Michigan Tech’s Essential Education program rollout, including outlining the value of this educational experience to current and future students. Videos of Future Symposiums presentations and materials serving as resources for instructors teaching Essential Education program courses will also be available on this channel.
Here are some quick links to a sample of the 2025 Symposium presentations, beginning with highlights of the full event.
- 2025 Essential Ed Symposium Highlights 2025 Essential Ed Symposium Highlights
- 2025 Michigan Tech Essential Education Symposium – Building Community Partnerships for EssEd Experiences 2025 Michigan Tech Essential Ed Symposium – Building Community Partnerships for EssEd Experiences
- 2025 Michigan Tech Essential Ed Symposium – Essential Abilities from a corporate perspective 2025 Michigan Tech Essential Ed Symposium – Essential Abilities: from a corporate perspective
- 2025 Essential Ed Symposium Keynote: Share Sutherland Founder of PebblePad – The Power of ePortfolio 2025 Essential Ed Symposium Keynote: Shane Sutherland Founder of PebblePad – The Power of ePortfolio
For more information on the rollout of Michigan Tech’s Tech Forward 1.0 initiative, Essential Education, review Michigan Tech’s Essential Education Newsblog.